LETTER: And the winner is ...

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Dear Editor:

Concerned about school taxes? Pearson Corp., the largest educational materials company in the world, which makes tests, materials to prepare for tests, tests to assess teachers and materials to prepare teachers for their tests, made $9.5 billion profit in 2011.

In September 2012, Gov. Cuomo appointed David Wakelyn the deputy secretary for education of the state. Wakelyn is the senior associate for America's Choice School Design, a Pearson sub-division.

Since 2008, state Education Department officials have been treated by Pearson to trips to London, Helsinki, Finland, Singapore and Rio de Janeiro.

Ken Mitchell, superintendent of the South Orangetown Central School District writes that in the six districts in his county (Rockland), the cost of Race to the Top testing implementation will be $11 million, but the "prize" will be only $400,000.

There is no evidence that testing and accountability based upon this testing has improved or will improve our educational system. It is all based on conjecture, fueled by profit.

Race to the Top conveys to me an image of millions of people playing "King of the Mountain" with very few winners at the top and the rest of us scrambling to climb it. A "race" has winners and losers. The biggest winner will be Pearson.